1. Technical Field
This invention relates to apparatuses for forming corners of drywall or wallboard constructed wall segments, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for forming inner and outer corners between two drywall or wallboard sections during a construction process.
2. Discussion
In the construction of buildings it is now common to use drywall or wallboard (hereinafter simply referred to as "drywall") on the interior of the structure to finish interior walls of the structure. The edges of adjacent sections which meet along a flat portion of a wall or ceiling (i.e., not at a corner) are relatively easy to finish, even by individuals without expertise in drywall finishing. The edges are tapered such that when two drywall sections are positioned adjacent one another a "cove" or depression is formed. The cove is first filled with mud and then tape is pressed into the mud along the full length of the cove. More mud is then placed over the tape before the first sanding of the resulting joint is performed.
When finishing corner areas where two sections of drywall meet and form a corner, however, the finishing process is time consuming and highly dependent upon the skill of the drywall finisher. The corner area, whether an interior or exterior corner, has to be taped, mudded and then sanded. The mudding and sanding process is usually performed several times, even by an experienced and highly skilled drywall finisher, before the corner joint takes on the appearance of a cleanly, integrally formed corner area with no visually perceptible joint areas. The corner areas are especially difficult to form at the areas where the walls meet the ceiling of a structure. As will be appreciated, this adds to the overall cost of constructing any structure where drywall is used and increases the time needed for drywall finishing.
The above finishing process can be particularly troublesome for home remodeling applications undertaken by "do-it-yourself" persons. By this term, it is meant those individuals who do not have extensive experience in working with drywall finishing and have not acquired the necessary skill to finish inner and outer corner areas of a structure in a manner that produces clean, well-finished corner areas free from visual imperfections. Whereas the portions of adjacent drywall panels that meet at a flat point along a wall or ceiling can usually be finished adequately by even a "do-it-yourself" person, the inner and outer corner areas are usually very difficult and time consuming for such persons to finish.
When forming outer corners between two drywall sections, it has previously been necessary to nail or screw a metal corner section over the corner before taping and mudding the corner. Obviously, the metal corner member has to be attached carefully such that it forms a straight vertical edge. If this component is not attached properly, a "wavy", non-linear edge will be formed, requiring even further finishing efforts.
It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for enabling inner and outer drywall corners to be quickly and easily constructed without having to tape and mud these corner areas when working with drywall panels.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method which is inexpensive to produce, easy to ship and install, and which further does not add appreciably to the overall construction costs when working with drywall panels, and which further enables the drywall finishing process to be performed much more quickly and efficiently.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method which can be readily adapted for forming either an inner corner or an outer corner area between two drywall panels, with the only requirement being the use or non-use of an additional metal member which is attached to the apparatus before the apparatus is installed in the corner area to thereby form a clean, straight vertical corner line over which taping and mudding may be performed.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a corner apparatus which enables rounded inner or outer corners to be formed without any mudding and taping at the corners.